


So Here’s The Thing (About the Morning After)

by Anonymous



Series: The Things [2]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: A little fluffy, Alright onto the CWs!, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Fears, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, It’s short, Just for the record, M/M, Part three will be up early to mid March! It’s coming, This is pretty much just filler because it sets you up for the /drumroll/ THIRD PART!!!, a little angsty, hangovers, i promise :), mentions of nausea/retching (no mentions of vomit), no beta we kyak like tim, nothing graphic though, now im just going where the whims of the web take me, part two babey!!, so anyways enjoy! See you in part 3!, that’s right babey this spiraled out of my control, uh that’s really it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29392773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Direct Continuation of “So Here’s The Thing (About Michael Shelley)”
Relationships: Gerard Keay/Michael Shelley
Series: The Things [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2159145
Comments: 15
Kudos: 39
Collections: Anonymous





	So Here’s The Thing (About the Morning After)

Gerry awoke to the sound of retching. He sat up too fast and his head pounded in protest. The retching continued, though it sounded more like dry heaving at this point. Gerry ignored his headache and stood up, making his way over to the bathroom only to see a blonde haired boy hunched over the toilet. 

_ “ Ah. Right.” _ the events of the night before came back to Gerry, and he cringed inwardly. Damn, he had been kind of a prick last night, huh? 

But what bothered him most is that as he looked at Michael crouched on the floor, holding his hair back and dry heaving, he didn’t… mind? He wanted to help him, but he wasn’t sure he wanted him to leave.

Michael was easy to talk to, at least when drunk. And he really was very, very pretty. And… Gerry was intrigued. Michael had turned out nothing like Gerry had thought, and he wanted to get to know him better.

That thought intimidated him.   
  


But Michael seemed to have his... situation under control, and Gerry didn’t really wanna deal with that right now, so he went to the kitchen to fill up a glass of water for him instead. 

Venturing back into his bedroom and the adjoining bathroom, he saw Michael now leaning against the sink with his head in between his knees. He looked up as Gerry entered the room, offering a weak smile. The bags under his eyes were accentuated by the paleness of his skin, and though his face had been cleaned of the makeup he had been wearing the night before, but his hair was a bit of a mess. Yet somehow, probably through some sort of pact with an evil demon, he still managed to look ridiculously pretty. 

_ Sigh. _ This was going to be a reoccurring revelation, wasn’t it?

“ Morning,” Gerry said, sitting down next to Michael and offering him the glass. “ How’re you holding up?”

Michael accepted the cup and took a long drink from it, nearly draining it in one go. 

“ Ah, sorry. I didn’t realize I was that thirsty,” he said, voice slightly raspy.

“ I’m… well, to be honest I feel like shit. I’ve got a horrible headache but at least the nausea has calmed down,” he continued, offering a small laugh at the end. Gerry nodded. They sat in a semi-awkward silence for a moment, and Michael fiddled with the glass in his hand.

“ Right. Well… I-I should probably get going,” he said at last. Gerry froze. 

“ No! I- uh, I mean- you should probably at least eat something, first?” He tried, very much not paying attention to the fact that he really just didn’t want Michael to leave yet. 

“ I- that’s very nice of you, but I really don’t wanna… intrude anymore that I already have,” Michael said, not making eye contact.

“ No, no, it’s alright! I don’t… I don’t mind. Really. I can see what’s in the fridge? I don’t cook a lot, I’m afraid. I’m pretty sure we have microwaveable waffles…?” He offered, cringing inwardly at the suggestion. But he really couldn’t cook for shit, and instant food was one thing he (usually) didn’t mess up. 

“ Oh! Can I, uh, take a look in your kitchen and see what’s available?” Michael asked. 

“ You really don’t have to do that, I mean, you’re technically my guest-“

“ If I’m going to stay for breakfast at least let me cook it,” Michael interrupted. “ Plus, I, uh… well, I like cooking. It’s cathartic. So I really don’t mind.”

“ Well... I suppose in that case, go for it. I cant promise you’ll find what you’re looking for but I suppose it couldn’t hurt to try, eh?” Gerry chuckled. “ Do you at least wanna take a shower first?”

“ I’ve been up for a little while, actually, so I did earlier. I hope you don’t mind?”

Gerry waved him off. 

“ No, no, that’s perfectly alright. I’ll just take a quick one while you… make breakfast, then.”

Michael nodded, and left for the kitchen, closing the bathroom door behind him.

Showering gave Gerry time to think, and that was no good.

He wasn’t really the type to carefully plan out or analyze everything that happened to him. But he kept turning the memories of the night before over in his mind as the water poured hot over his back. 

And yet, by the time he actually worked up the courage to step out of the shower, the only conclusion he had reached was that kissing Michael was very nice, and he wanted to do it again.

Well. He already knew that, he just hadn’t wanted to admit it yet.

Quickly getting dressed and lightly towelling off his hair, he stepped into the kitchen area. The first thing he noticed was the appetizing smell of eggs and toast, and the second was that Michael was humming.

His voice was surprisingly smooth, especially considering how raspy it had been not long ago, and although the melody he hummed wasn’t familiar to Gerry, it sounded serene. He continued to hum, adding in little bits of verse here and there as he took two plates with buttered toast and distributed the eggs onto each. 

He seemed to hear Gerry come in, though, as the humming stopped and he turned to the doorway. 

“ Ah, hello! I, er, I made eggs? I figured scrambled was the safest option.” He said sheepishly, holding up the plates.

“ Oh, those look really good. Thanks, Michael,” Gerry said genuinely, smiling at the boy who blushed in return. 

“ Ah, it’s really not a big deal or anything,” he said, putting the plates down on the table. “ Let me just wash the pan real quick-“

“ No, no, sit down and eat. I’ll deal with it later.”

“ But-“

“ Michael, I insist. You cooked this, you could at least let me clean up,” Gerry said, pulling out a chair and sitting down and the table. Michael nervously did the same. 

Gerry’s lifted up his toast and took a bite, eyes widening a little. 

“ Are they alright?” Michael asked nervously. Gerry chewed and swallowed before he answered. 

“ I didn’t know eggs and toast could taste that good, holy shit.”

Michael looked at him a little suspiciously. 

“ Are you pulling my leg…?”

“ No! Seriously! To be fair, most of my diet consists of instant ramen and other microwaveable foods, so I guess the bar isn’t that high, but seriously, this is really good.” They were; the eggs were buttery and not over cooked, and even the toast was perfectly browned. 

“ So… uh… where did you learn to cook?” Gerry asked, a little awkwardly. 

“ Oh! My… my mom taught me, when I was younger. Well, started to teach me. After she passed, I kept learning. It was a way to stay close to her, you know?”

“ ...Oh. I’m sorry for asking, that’s a lot more… personal than I meant it to be.”

Michael waved his hand in dismissal, smiling softly. 

“ It’s alright. It’s not really a secret or anything. Brings back good memories.” He paused, as if recalling, then snapped out of it and kept eating his eggs.

“ Anyway, sorry. I should probably try to get out of your hair as fast as possible, huh?” A nervous laugh slipped from his lips as he spoke. 

“ Michael… is it safe? For you to go back?” Gerry asked. Genuine concern laced his voice, and it seemed to give Michael pause. 

“ I… I don’t know. There’s no reason he would- he would know? He… As…. as long as I manage to get in while he’s gone I’ll be fine,” Michael said, not making eye contact. Gerry pressed his lips together. 

“ What if… what if I said I didn’t want you to go?” He tried, forcing the words out of his mouth though his brain hissed at him to stop. 

Michael looked up, meeting Gerry’s eyes. 

“ I… even if you genuinely wanted me to stay-“ 

“ I do!” Gerry interrupted, reaching out across the table, taking Michael’s hand in his, making sure to keep eye contact. 

“ Michael, I… I genuinely do. Emotional honestly isn’t somethin’ I’m good at, but I’m gonna try here, okay? I know last night didn’t go the way either of us expected, but I- I enjoy your company. I like having you here and- I want to get to know you better. Fuck, I think you might just be the most honest person I’ve met.”

Michael let out a shaky little laugh. 

“ How can I be honest when I’m quite literally living a lie, Gerry?”

“ But you don’t  _ have  _ to. You’re in the same year as me, right? So you’re turning 18 soon. You can… you can  _ leave. _ You don’t owe anything to him,” Gerry whispered the last bit, leaning across the table.

“ It’s not that simple.” Michael whispered in return, looking away. Gerry felt a little pang in his heart. 

“ I- fuck, Michael, I know, I really do. I’m not- I’m not asking you to run away with me or anything. But… I think I could, in the future. I don’t- I don’t want to go to school Monday like nothing ever happened. I want to keep seeing you, whether as friends or… or what.” Gerry admitted, thumb gently caressing the back of Michael’s hand. Michael bit his lip. 

“ I- you shouldn’t have to hide, Gerry. But I can’t- I can’t be open with you. Even if it’s just friendship.”

“ I’m not going to force you to do anything. But… I would be really sad to not have the chance to know you. I think we could be something, Michael.”

Michael’s eyes swam with unshed tears as he looked at Gerry. 

“ I- fuck, Gerry- I don’t think I want to loose that chance either. But it’s not- it’s not fair to you. I can’t- I can’t put you through that-“

“ That’s my choice, not yours. I would be willing to put myself through that. It’s not that long and it’s not that bad. And if… if you decide it’s worth it, then I’m certain it won’t stay like this forever.”

Michael let out a watery laugh. 

“ You’re a strange one, Gerry Keay. I don’t know what you see in me.”

“ The same could go for you, Michael Shelley.”

“ I’m broken,” the words slip out softly, and Gerry just squeezes his hand. 

“ So am I. Have you  _ seen _ me? I mean, I look like this, for one,” he says, gesturing to himself. “ And two, don’t forget, I was at that bar last night too. I’ve got my own issues, don’t you worry about that.”

“ All the more reason I shouldn’t saddle you with  _ mine- _ “

“ Michael,” Gerry said, cutting him off. “ Do you want me. Just- yes or no.”

Michael bit his lip.

“ Yes,” he whispered.

“ Well, I want you, too.” Gerry said softly, the corners of his mouth being pulled into a smile. “ I think that much is pretty obvious. I’m  _ not _ going to force you into anything you don’t want to do, but… why don’t we give it a try?”

Michael looks at him silently, then looks down and furiously wipes at his eyes before looking back up and nodding, lips pressed together. 

“ Yeah?” Gerry prompts. 

“ Yes. I- god, yes.” Michael says, and then he’s leaned across the table and kissed Gerry, and Gerry practically melts, because kissing Michael is still so  _ lovely,  _ the lack of lust and alcohol like there had been the night before did nothing to diminish that. 

The kiss doesn’t last long, and Michael is pulling away all too soon, but his hand remains on his cheek as he looks into Gerry’s eyes. Gerry looks back. 

“ Okay. I… it’s not going to be… easy.” Michael says softly.

“ I don’t want it to be,” Gerry breathes back. Michael smiles at him. It’s not wide, but it’s warm, and his eyes smile too. 

He pulls his hand away. 

Picking up his plate and putting it next to the sink, he turns back to Gerry. 

“ Can I see your phone?” He asks. Gerry blinks. 

“ I mean, sure, but what for?”

“ So I can give you my number,” Michael says, giving him a cheeky wink. Gerry snorts, but smiles anyway and hands his phone over. Michael types in his number and sets it as a contact, then gives the phone back. 

“ Alright. I’ve gotta get going, then. It’s Saturday so my dad won’t be back from church until 2:30, so I still have a couple hours.”

“ Do you need me to call a cab for you?” 

“ No, no, I’ve got it. My phone’s in my coat pocket.”

“ Alright. Well… I’ll see you monday. You can… call me if you need anything, okay?” 

“ Yeah,” Michael smiles. “ Okay. And Gerry?” 

“ Yeah?” 

Michael walks over and envelopes him in a hug. Gerry hugs hun back, if a little tentatively. 

“ Thank you,” he whispers into Gerry’s ear, before pulling away and giving Gerry a quick kiss on the forehead. 

Then he’s grabbed his coat and headed out the door, and Gerry sees it close and hears the soft  _ click _ as it shuts fully. 

He stands in his living room for a moment, just looking at the door. Then he looks down at his phone, where a single contact name is listed. 

_ “ Michael <3” _

Gerry smiles.

**Author's Note:**

> There’s gon b a part three y’all! This one was pretty much just set up but I hope you guys enjoyed regardless :)


End file.
